308 [Senate 



&C.J while the cheapness of the material is strongly in its favor, as 

 will be shown hereafter. 



Cost of raising apples. — Suppose an acre of land can be had for 

 <$50.00j which is not more than the average of good land in this 

 State J that 40 apple trees, — which would place them two rods apart 

 on the acre, — may be had for 25 cents each, or $10.00 for the forty ; 

 and that $5.00 be paid for transplanting them, which would do the 

 work well, placing them in holes six feet in diameter, well filled with 

 mellow rich mold, and staking them well to prevent loosening by 

 the wind. The crops obtained from the ground until their arrival at 

 a full bearing state, would amply pay the interest on the whole cost, 

 and for cultivation and manuring. If well taken care of, and the 

 soil kept mellow by hoed crops, they would bear abundantly in one- 

 half the time usually required, and yield an average of at least five 

 bushels to the tree — many would bear fifteen or twenty when the trees 

 became large, if kept cultivated. The cost of an acre of orchard^ 

 and of each bushel of apples would be as follows : 



One acre of land, $50 . 00 



Forty apple trees, 10 . 00 



Transplanting, 5 . 00 



Contingencies, 5 . 00 



Whole cost of one acre, $70 . 00 



The annual cost would then be $4 . 90, the interest on $70 . 00 ; and 

 if fed to stock, for gathering, say $2 . 10 j total $7 . 00. Five bushels a 

 tree would be two hundred bushels, which at seven dollars would be 

 three cents and a half per bushel. But in many cases, the acre of 

 land would nearly or quite pay the interest, even after the trees be- 

 come large, and the cos.t of gathering would be less when fed to hogs 

 under the trees, which would place the cost per bushel much lower. 



Profits. — At the preceding estimated cost and product, if apples 

 are worth 12^ cents per bushel for farm stock, the nett profits of an 

 acre would be eighteen dollars. If for market, at 25 cents per bush- 

 el, and allowing ten dollars per acre for picking, the nett profits would 

 be forty dollars per acre Much larger returns, however, have fre- 

 quently been obtained ; a farmer in Monroe county received one year 

 two hundred dollars for the product of an acre of winter apples, and 

 rarely fails of a hundred dollars. Another in Ontario county* re- 



* William Otley, of Phelps, in 1843. 



